Man rescued from grain bin on Emerson Road in Canandaigua

A man trapped in a grain bin Monday morning at 4450 Emerson Road made a cell phone call that saved his life.

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By Julie Sherwood

MPNnow

By Julie Sherwood

Posted May. 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM

By Julie Sherwood

Posted May. 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM

A man trapped in a grain bin Monday morning at 4450 Emerson Road made a cell phone call that saved his life.

“He was up to his armpits in corn grain,” said Canandaigua City Fire Chief Mark Marentette of the call that came in at 9:38 a.m. “We were on the scene in five minutes.”

A truck driver outside the grain bin realized what was going on and shut the power off the grain auger, said Marentette. Firefighters Matt and Ron Bement and Bryan Kransler facilitated the rescue that involved Matt entering through the hatch in the lower part of the bin and getting a rope to the man. With the help of other responders including two state police officers they pulled the man out, said Marentette.

Others involved Canandaigua Ambulance and Finger Lakes Emergency Medical Service in Shortsville, Marentette said, adding that requests had gone out to the Canandaigua VA Medical Center firefighters, who were en route, as well as a request for the Ontario County’s Rope Rescue Team that, as it turns out, was not needed.

“We anticipated it would take longer,” said Marentette.

From the call to the rescue it was 18 minutes, with five minutes for firefighters to get there and 13 minutes to get the man out.

The man, whose name was not immediately available, remained alert and did not appear injured, said Marentette, adding the man was taken to Thompson via ambulance for an evaluation.

“I am very happy the outcome was so positive,” said Marentette. “It could have easily been a tragedy. I am very proud and impressed with the skills of our people — to come up with a plan and get him out safely.”